Windows Black Screen: Complete Fix Guide [2025]

Solution #1: Force Restart

This is your first move, especially if this is the first time you're seeing the black screen:

1. Hold down the power button for 10-15 seconds until your PC completely shuts off
2. Wait about 30 seconds
3. Press the power button to turn it back on
4. Let Windows load normally

I know this seems too simple, but you'd be surprised how often it works. It's safe to try and clears out any temporary system glitches.

Solution #2: Check Your Display Connections

If you're using a desktop PC or external monitor, check your cables:

1. Turn off your PC completely
2. Unplug your display cable (HDMI, DisplayPort, or VGA) and plug it back in firmly at both ends
3. If you have a graphics card, make sure the cable is plugged into the graphics card ports (not the motherboard ones)
4. If you're using two monitors, try unplugging the second one temporarily
5. Check that your monitor is set to the right input source (press the input/source button on the monitor)

This catches a lot of people after they've moved their computer or accidentally bumped a cable.

Solution #3: Wake Up the Display

Sometimes Windows thinks your display is asleep or in the wrong mode:

1. Press Windows key + P twice
2. Wait 5 seconds
3. Press Enter
4. Also try pressing Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B — this resets your graphics driver

You might hear a beep when you press that last key combo. That's normal—it means Windows is resetting the graphics driver.

Solution #4: Restart Explorer.exe

If you can see your cursor moving around on a black screen, try this:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager (if that doesn't work, try Ctrl + Alt + Delete first, then select Task Manager)
2. Click "File" in the top-left corner, then "Run new task"
3. Type explorer.exe and hit Enter
4. Your desktop should pop up within a few seconds

This basically restarts Windows Explorer, which is what displays your desktop, taskbar, and Start menu.

Solution #5: Turn Off Fast Startup

If the black screen keeps coming back, Fast Startup might be the culprit:

1. Boot into Safe Mode (see Solution #6 below if you need help)
2. Press Windows + R, type control, and press Enter
3. Go to "Power Options" then "Choose what the power buttons do"
4. Click "Change settings that are currently unavailable" (you might need admin rights)
5. Uncheck the box next to "Turn on fast startup (recommended)"
6. Save your changes and restart

Your PC will boot a bit slower without Fast Startup, but it's worth it if it fixes your black screen problem.

Solution #6: Boot into Safe Mode

Safe Mode loads Windows with only the essential drivers, which lets you fix problems that prevent normal booting.

Method 1: From a Black Screen

1. Hold the power button for 10 seconds to force shutdown
2. Turn on your PC
3. As soon as you see the Windows logo, hold the power button again to force shutdown
4. Do this 3 times total—Windows will automatically enter Recovery Mode
5. Click "Advanced options" → "Troubleshoot" → "Advanced options" → "Startup Settings" → "Restart"
6. When the menu appears, press 4 or F4 for Safe Mode

Method 2: From the Login Screen (If You Can See It)

1. Click the power icon in the bottom-right
2. Hold down Shift and click "Restart"
3. Follow steps 5-6 from Method 1

Solution #7: Fix Your Graphics Drivers

This is often the real fix if your black screen started after a Windows update. The update might have installed a buggy graphics driver.

1. Boot into Safe Mode (use Solution #6)
2. Right-click the Start button and select "Device Manager"
3. Expand "Display adapters" to see your graphics card
4. Right-click on your graphics card (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel)
5. Option A: Click "Properties" → "Driver" tab → "Roll Back Driver" (if the button is available, this undoes the recent driver update)
6. Option B: Click "Uninstall device" → Check "Delete the driver software" → Restart. Windows will install a basic driver that should work.
7. Once you can see your desktop again, download the latest driver directly from NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel (don't use Windows Update for this)

In my experience, this fixes the majority of post-update black screens. The key is getting the driver from the manufacturer's website, not from Windows Update.

Solution #8: System Restore

If you know when the problem started (like right after an update or installing some software), System Restore can roll your PC back to that point:

1. Boot into Safe Mode or Windows Recovery
2. Press Windows + R, type rstrui, and press Enter
3. Click "Next"
4. Pick a restore point from before your black screen started (you'll see the dates listed)
5. Click "Next" then "Finish" to confirm
6. Give it 10-15 minutes to finish

Important: This only works if System Restore was already turned on before the problem started. Your files won't be deleted, but recently installed programs might be removed.

Solution #9: Repair Corrupted System Files

Windows has a built-in tool to fix corrupted files. It's worth trying if nothing else has worked:

1. Boot into Safe Mode
2. Right-click Start and select "Terminal (Admin)" or "Command Prompt (Admin)"
3. Type sfc /scannow and press Enter
4. This will take 15-30 minutes—let it finish
5. If it finds problems, also run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
6. Restart when it's done

Solution #10: Try a New User Account

Sometimes your user profile gets corrupted. Creating a new account can tell you if that's the problem:

1. Boot into Safe Mode
2. Open Settings and go to Accounts → Family & other users
3. Click "Add someone else to this PC"
4. Follow the steps to make a new local account
5. Restart and log in with this new account
6. If your desktop shows up now, your old profile was the problem. You can copy your files from C:\Users\OldUsername\ to the new account

Solution #11: Uninstall the Recent Update

1. Boot into Safe Mode (see Solution #6)
2. Go to Settings → Windows Update → Update history → Uninstall updates
3. Look for the most recent update at the top of the list
4. Click on it and select "Uninstall"
5. Restart and see if the black screen is gone
6. If this fixed it, you can pause updates for a week or so while Microsoft (hopefully) releases a fix

This works more often than you'd think. Sometimes Microsoft pushes out buggy updates that they later patch.